The Grand Army of the Republic pilots participated in many battles throughout the war, piloting gunships to transport troopers and flying V-19 Torrent starfighters to engage Separatist starfighters, especially in the early part of the war.[8] Wearing Phase 1 armor with yellow markings, they also piloted AT-TE walkers and other ground craft. Pilots participated in various campaigns, including the battles of Christophsis, Teth, destroying the Malevolence at the Kaliida Nebula, Bothawui, Quell, Ryloth, Devaron, the Second Battle of Geonosis, and many others. They flew V-19s, Y-wing bombers, and ARC-170s for most of the early part of the war.

In late 21 BBY, clone pilot armor was changed with the addition of Phase 2 clone armor. New clone Z-95 Headhunter starfighters were added to the Republic arsenal, and clone pilots flew them at battles including Umbara, Kadavo, Scipio, and many others. In mid 20 BBY, the armor was changed yet again, and the ARC-170 became the Republic's main starfighter, alongside new V-wings.

These specialized troopers were normally equipped with a bolt caster, a blaster pistol, and a supply dispenser containing five packs of medicine, bacta, and ammunition.[5] However, in space they discarded their bacta, ammo, and bolt casters for time bombs.[7]

When Phase I armor was in use, ground and starfighter pilots wore armor that featured yellow markings and red Republic symbols on their specialized helmets.[4] Phase I pilots also had a box attached to their chest armor that supplied oxygen to their helmets. This armor was in use until the introduction of Phase II armor in late 21 BBY. Those who wore Phase II pilot armor were able to customize their armor.[8] The pilots who flew capital ships wore a special type of armor, as seen in the Battle of Mon Calamari during the Clone Wars.[6]

New armor for the pilots was also added with Phase 2 armor. As at that point Clone Z-95 starfighters were mainstream, they wore fully enclosed helmets like on the pilot in the picture on the above right. Later in mid 20 BBY, the armor was changed again to accommodate for the ARC-170 replacing the Z-95 as the mainstream starfighter.

Two sets of Phase II pilot armor[9] were in use as of 19 BBY.[3] The first set, which used a helmet that was not fully enclosed, was the more common set, as it was used by the majority of pilots.[9] The second set, which had a fully enclosed helmet and armor that looked similar to that of an AT-AT pilot, was mainly used in the V-wing starfighter, which carried no life support system.[8]

Clone trooper pilots were randomly picked from the normal clone ranks to be pilots and technicians.[11] As the war progressed, a new breed of clones were trained to fly the latest Republic starfighters.[12] They could drive, fly, and pilot most things in the Republic's arsenal of vehicles, although many were trained to specialize in one particular craft.